Refrigeration products, such as air conditioning units and the like, employ a refrigerant contained in a closed loop system to provide cooling. Access to the closed loop system is commonly provided by a service connection, or service valve block. The service connection is valved to permit charging, evacuation, and/or testing of the closed loop system for a variety of purposes by manufacturing personnel during manufacture or by service personnel in the field.
A desirable feature of a service connection valve of a refrigeration product is the ability to permit high flow rates both into the closed loop system during charging as well as high flow rates out of the closed loop system during evacuation. In addition to permitting high flow rates, the valve should also be replaceable in the event of a failure of one or more of the valve components, such as a seal.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical process that the cooling system of a refrigeration product undergoes during manufacturing. The system is first pressurized for testing purposes, during which a burst test followed by a leak test are performed. The tests can be performed either at a single testing station, or at separate stations. A typical total testing time takes from about 2 to about 5 minutes. After testing, the system is vented to atmosphere, followed by an evacuation. Evacuation typically takes from about 10 to about 30 minutes. Once evacuation is complete, the system is charged, which typically takes about 2 minutes, followed by another leak test during which the system is checked for leaks, and a subsequent run test. Each processing phase is often performed at a separate station, or one or more processing phases are performed at a single station. As evident from FIG. 1, the evacuation phase accounts for the largest percentage of the total processing time, and any reduction in evacuation time, thereby reducing the total processing time, would be beneficial. Any reduction in the other processing phase times would also be beneficial.
In addition, service personnel in the field access the cooling system of the refrigeration product through the service connection valve, typically for charging or evacuation of the cooling system. A reduction in charging or evacuation time would also benefit service personnel as well.
High flow valves having high flow rates are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,295. This patent also discloses a service connection that utilizes a valve core, often called a schrader valve, for controlling access to a closed loop cooling system of a refrigeration system. As described in the patent, the flow rate provided by a schrader valve core is generally lower than the flow rates provided by the high flow valves disclosed in the patent. It is expected that the valves described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,295, when used on a refrigeration product, would permit a reduction in one or more of the processing phase times during manufacturing, as well as reducing charging and evacuation times for service personnel.
Manufacturing and service personnel also rely upon a variety of tools during manufacturing and servicing to connect with a service connection valve to provide access to the cooling system in order to conduct each processing phase. For example, valve core removal tools for removing and/or inserting schrader valve cores are available from Robinair of Montpelier, Ohio. These valve core removal tools utilize a screw thread coupling mechanism at one end thereof that screws onto threads on the schrader valve body for connecting the tool to the valve. However, it is expected that improved tooling will also facilitate the manufacturing and service processing phases.
There is a need for improvements in the manufacturing and service processes on refrigeration systems to reduce the overall time of the processes, as well as to make such processes easier on manufacturing and service personnel.